Long time no journal, it seems. Most of the past week has been ordinary in a day-to-day sort of way. A lot of energy on non-critical but also non-ignorable medical issues following up on my physical a couple of weeks ago. I just scheduled one of those “procedures” that us old folks need to endure from time to time. The mood of these past few days has been the product, I think, of the arrival of my home blood pressure monitor. Getting into the habit of checking my blood pressure several times a day. This is a bit of overkill, and I’ll probably default to a daily check before too long. I just wanted to get the hang of the thing, as well as looking at how results might vary at different times of the day and under different circumstances. It’s basically all over the map. I was tempted to include the chart I created (Excel spreadsheet, to be precise), but convinced myself that not only would that be TMI, but also TDS (too damned sad). Add to this some experiments with dietary adjustments (oh boy, bland food) and making sure that I don’t fall into slackerdom on the exercise front, as the season begins to make the sedentary indoor lifestyle a bit more appealing, and I’ve been a little distracted.
Business remains good, so no complaints in that regard. Money concerns are largely transitory. Credit cards suddenly clogged with airline tickets for the February course in Mexico (reimbursable, so it’s just a blip) and a trip back east to visit the family. The cat’s health also is a concern.
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On the upside, Undercover Blues Band accepted a gig for January 2. It has been over a year since we last performed. Bill is back from his touring duties, at least for now, so we’ll be able to rehearse once a week for the next couple of months. This will allow us to work back into performance trim without a sense of hurry. We have a more intensive schedule the week before the gig, where we will put together the set as a whole, and with this trio that would be sufficient if it needed to be. But with the extra time we will have the opportunity to really see where we are right now.
This is one of the great virtues of this band. We are very good at assessing what is working for us at any given moment, and what isn’t, and as far as I can tell we are utterly unromantic about the implication of those judgments. When something is working, it is abundantly clear. It is the same when something isn’t working. It doesn’t really matter who voices the observation. 99% of the time we all already know it to be true. And, speaking for myself, if I’m not noticing it, it kind of doesn’t matter. I trust Bill and Igor’s assessment. If a change might bring a piece back to life, we try it. If not, we drop it. I have never once felt any remorse or even a tinge of hurt feelings within this process. That is a truly remarkable quality in a group.
With the work I’ve been doing I’ll have a few new pieces to float, and see if they resonate for the group as a whole. So we have lot’s of options. I’m thinking that Don’t Go No Farther and Key To The Highway are definite candidates. We are looking to have an abundance of material available, so that if it turns into a 2-set gig (there are only 2 bands on the bill) we can do that.
Finished the Muddy biography. Moving on to John Lee Hooker. The only bio I found for him seems to get mixed reviews, but as long as the basic data is buried in there, I’ll find it. I think this will wrap up the Blues Dude Bio cycle. Of the ones I’ve read, Skip James’ remains the best, and probably the scariest: I’d Rather Be The Devil: Skip James and the Blues. Definitely recommended, but uplifting it ain’t.
Then there's this. Yikes. Howlin' Wolf unloads on Son House:
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